The Days of December are continuing here at DesignerDigitals. We have a new batch of 260 items marked down 30% and a brand new item priced at just $ 50 cents. These specials will only be at this price until 6am EST on December 4th.

Today’s special item is Ornament Collection No. 01

Here we are at the start of December! If you are taking part in Days of December I hope you are capturing as many moments as possible, in either words, snapshots or carefully planned photographs.
If Days of December is not for you, and thats fair enough, I hope you are still gathering seasonal stories for your scrapbook pages. Take a moment, in this full and busy month, to look around you and see the moment. Notice the details and take a deep breath.

The next few ‘get it together’ blog posts are about creating and using our supplies for Christmas. Plenty of ideas about gifts, packaging, and decorations you can create.

This is the month a lot of us decorate for Christmas, some of you will have already done so, and some of you arent even contemplating it for a week or so yet {Hello fellow Brits!}
I create many of my decorations myself.  It was saving money that first made me do so, and now its the fact I cant find exactly what I want that keeps me making them… Okay; that and the fact I can never sit still

Some are a labour of love, but others really do take moments, or just part of your evening anyway…

Festive signs made from tin seem to be everywhere at the moment. I cant quite believe what they are charging for them either, so I set out to make my own!
A local cheap interior store was selling {badly painted, LOL}  tin signs saying things like ‘hot coffee served here’ with a supposedly retro vibe {hmmm…} I’m sure you know the kind of thing. I picked up some for a few pounds.
I created a new PS document the same size, designed my own festive cheery signs and printed them out. I used high resolution paper, and the best print setting.
After trimming them down, I glued them onto the tin sign front. Chalked the edges for a little ageing effect- oh yes, I have old paper supplies like chalk still - You could always protect it by varnishing, but I haven’t.

I’ll be posting these in the gallery with credits too.

You can see the red one I am keeping {the others are gifts} in this picture, underneath the tag advent calendar. This is my mantle, partially ready for the festive season!

Are you up to your eyeballs in preparations for the holidays? Do you wish you had a few free minutes to sit down and scrap? Why not try a template during this busy season? Let the experts design your next layout as an early gift to yourself. Katie has done just that in her Joyous Memories Layered Template, the perfect vehicle for capturing your memories.

Sharon (Shannamay) recorded Claire’s take on Christmas lights on her page; I always enjoy hearing what Claire has to say about things. Sharon’s title work and great color scheme are both eye-catchers. Love those pops of orange!

Credits: Joyous Memories Layered Template, You and Me Paper Pack, Fall Tickets, Mix-n-Match Alphabet No. 02, Pearlescent Paperie No. 01

Janet’s (JALong) page makes snowdays sound like so much fun that I almost wish I lived where I could have one. I love that frosty combination of aqua and lime to underscore her theme and the additional picture of Annie’s snowman.

Credits: Joyous Memories Layered Template, Chilling Kit {coming soon}, Stitched by Anna Bitz White No. 01, Messy Stamped Alphabet No. 04 Brushes and Stamps, Love Word Art, Stacked Color Photo Frames No. 01, Lil Bit Tags, Stitched by Anna Circles No. 02, Photo Corners: Colors No. 01

I went seasonal for my page, too, using Katie’s template for some pictures I took a couple of weeks ago when my mother and I toured our local Festival of Trees. My grandchildren would have loved that candy tree, and the picture I masked was of my favorite, the VERY expensive first-place winner.

Credits: Joyous Memories Layered Template, Snow Pushers Paper Pack, Mix-n-Match Alphabet No. 01, Little Bits Alphabet: Red, Photo Wraps No. 19, Ornament Collection No. 01 {coming soon}, Stitched by Anna Borders Red No. 01, Stitched by Anna Borders Evergreen No. 01, Stitched by Anna Red No. 02

During this busy season, carve out a little time for yourself; and use some of the great templates available here at DD to help you preserve the memories you’re making. I hope you’ll pick up Katie’s template in the store and post your page in the Template Challenge Gallery. Happy Holidays!

The Days of December are continuing here at DesignerDigitals. We have a new batch of 260 items marked down 30% and a brand new item priced at just $ 50 cents. These specials will only be at this price until 6am EST on December 3rd.

Today’s special item is Countables: Holidays No. 01

Hello Everyone!  I’m pleased to present this interview with Melissa Hill today so that you can get to know her a little better!

I asked Melissa to tell me a little about her life and here is what she said.
A little about me. Alright here it goes. I live in Ontario, Canada about an hour from Toronto. I come from a family of 5 and have 2 younger brothers. I went to high school with Kayleigh and Heidi (from the DD team). I am married and have 2 girls; Hailey and Danika. I work full time as a registered nurse on a child and adolescent psychiatry unit. A few of my passions are photography, scrapping and cooking. To describe my personality I would say I am a happy, optimistic, fun person who loves to create.

You create the most beautiful pages full of color and layering of elements.. tell us a bit about your process.
I am definitely drawn to colour and balance. When scrapping, I usually start with a photo, an event or a memory and go from there. I typically look for kits/elements that compliment my photo and do any slight re-touching to colour match. If I don’t like the colour in my photo I simply edit it in Lightroom and have fun with it. I tend to use a variety of elements on my pages because well, that’s me. With so many fun products in the store I find it hard not to try different products, and use what suits the page and gets me excited to scrap.

How did you get started in digital scrapbooking? Were you a paper scrapper first?
Yes I was a paper scrapper first. I always enjoyed the creative side of scrapping and actually found it quite hard to switch to digital. I joined back in 2007 and the freebies drew me in. It was fun to create but I didn’t understand about the whole printing process, what the quality would look like, was this really for me? I would go back and forth and discuss the site with Kayleigh quite often. As she pursued it farther I drew back. I tried different sites, a creative team, but couldn’t find home. I was encouraged all the time to get back to the scrapping that I love and one day I did a name change (Hill is not actually my last name but it’s close), an avatar change and somehow got my mojo back. I feel more at home than ever.

What are your “tools of the trade”? What type of camera do you use, software, favorite lens, anything else you use?
My tools of the trade include my Canon 30D (which I would love to upgrade), Lightroom 3.0, and Photoshop CS5. My favourite book is Understanding Exposure. My favourite lens is my 50mm 1.4. I love my striped camera strap (Cotton Candy by Natalie) and my Crumpler camera bag.

Do you have any advice for new digi scrappers? What are some of things that have helped you grow as a scrapper?
New scrappers: keep scrapping, keep creating, and keep doing what makes you happy. A good start would be to keep lifting others, keep searching for new ideas and scrap what feels right to you! What helped me grow is learning from all the talent on DD. The more you have fun with your pages, the more you enjoy doing it and want to create more.

I know you love to use a variety of product in your pages… so what are your top 5 all time favorite products/kits?
My top 5 products…that’s the easy recipe. I use a cup of Katie (cut-ups or little bits), a slice of Anna (stitching or scalloped strips), a pinch of Ali (hand drawn words), an ounce of Pattie (any acrylic) and a dash of Michelle (linen or colbie). And most times the recipe calls for the other 11 designers creations too. Depends on the layout!

I asked Melissa to share a favorite layout of hers and she chose this fabulous layout! 
Make sure you check out the rest of her gallery here: Melissa Hill Gallery

Melissa, we’re so happy you’ve decided to call DD home!